Ok, I am 24, my most vivid memories of watching the game is 1986-87 though I continue to rate the 'best player(s)' I have seen from 1988 where as an 8 y.o. I attended my first ever Winfield Cup game.
So...the player I have seen in over 16 years of watching the game religously...
Very hard to narrow it down to one player admittedly, and I will exclide Wally Lewis, Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny etc for the simply fact I saw them in the wind down to their careers.
In no particular order;
* Ricky Stuart - Peerless passing and kicking game coupled with a football brain second to none you could argue which is on display in his current coaching stint with Sydney. Stuart was awesome in particular seasons 93 and 94 where he was at the height of his powers duelling with little Allan Langer for the coveted number 7 jersey for Australia.
* Allan Langer - The heart and soul of Brisbane and QLD teams in a career that spanned over 3 seperate decades. Alf was an individual player who made plays from literally nothing and his partnership with Kevin Walters is legendary amongst Brisbane fans. Still has the best short kicking game I have ever seen and perhaps the most dangerous player I have ever seen from 20m out.
* Andrew Johns - Tackles like a world rated hooker, like Ricky Stuart, peerless passing and kicking skills, quite simply the complete footballer. Some of the great individual displays of all time have come from Joey and it saddens me to think we may see a toned down version in 2005 after some serious injuries.
The 3 guys above were/are great leaders of men and all 3 have the competitivness that all great sportsman have. At various times, all 3 players have been heralded as the 'world's best' with each winning just about every individual award the game has to offer.
With the above 3, I would like to mention; Brad Fittler, Laurie Daley, Brad Clyde, Cliff Lyons and Terry Lamb. Glen Lazarus as a prop has to mentioned, as well as Steve Walters for the hooking role.
